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1973 Arizona Wildcats football team 
Summary
The 1973 Arizona Wildcats football team represented the University of Arizona during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Led by Jim Young in his first year, the Wildcats shared the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship with rival Arizona State, with ASU winning the head-to-head matchup to clinch the conference’s bowl bid and Arizona was left out of the postseason as a result.
| 1973 Arizona Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
WAC co-champion | |
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
| Record | 8–3 (6–1 WAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | John Mackovic (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Larry Smith (1st season) |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Arizona Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Arizona State + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Young was brought in by Arizona to replace Bob Weber, who was fired after the 1972 season. The Wildcats believed that Young would rebuild the team and to return them to their winning ways.[1]
Schedule edit
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 8 | at Colorado State | W 31–0 | 17,217 | |||
| September 15 | at Wyoming | W 21–7 | 19,718 | |||
| September 22 | Indiana* | W 26–10 | 38,643 | |||
| October 6 | at Iowa* | W 23–20 | 40,365 | |||
| October 13 | New Mexico |
| W 22–14 | 39,582 | ||
| October 20 | Texas Tech* | No. 19 |
| L 17–31 | 40,172 | |
| October 27 | Utah |
| ABC | W 42–21 | 34,219 | |
| November 3 | at UTEP | W 35–18 | 6,960 | |||
| November 10 | at BYU | W 24–10 | 19,597 | |||
| November 17 | Air Force* | No. 19 |
| L 26–27 | 39,733 | |
| November 24 | at No. 13 Arizona State | L 19–55 | 51,383 | |||
| ||||||
Roster edit
- Bill Adamson, mg
- Dennis Anderson, s
- Mike Battles, s
- Theo Bell, wr
- Jay Bledsoe, og
- Wally Brumfield, de
- Mike Dawson, dt
- Obra Erby, lb
- Charlie Gorham, k
- Glen Gresham, lb
- Rich Hall, dt
- Willie Hamilton, rb
- Keith Hartwig, wr
- Allyn Haynes, og
- Bruce Hill, qb
- Mitch Hoopes, p
- Dan Howard, te
- Leon Lawrence, db
- Rex Naumetz, de
- Brian Murray, ot
- Mark Neal, wr
- Jim O'Connor, ot
- Vince Phason, cb
- Ransom Terrell, lb
- Jim Upchurch, rb
- Bruce Walker, dt
- Roussell Williams, cb
- Bob Windisch, c
Staff edit
- Head coach: Jim Young
- Offensive coaches: Bill Belknap, Bob Bockrath, John Mackovic, Willie Peete
- Defensive coaches: Mike Hankwitz, Sharkey Price (DL), Tom Reed, Larry Smith[3]
Statistics edit
Passing edit
| Player | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Hill | 104 | 216 | 1,529 | 9 | 9 |
Rushing edit
| Player | Att | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Upchurch | 210 | 1,184 | 10 |
Receiving edit
| Player | Rec | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theo Bell | 47 | 790 | 7 |
[4]==Awards==
All-WAC (1st Team)
- Jim O'Connor (OT)
- Willie Hamilton (RB)
- Roussell Williams (CB)
- Ransom Terrell (LB)
- Wally Brumfield (DE)
All-WAC (Second Team)
- Jay Bledsoe (OG)
- Bob Windisch (C)
- T Bell (WR)
- Jim Upchurch (RB)
- Mike Dawson (DT)
- Glen Gresham (LB)
- Mike Battles (FS)
- Leon Lawrence (SS)
- Charlie Gorham (K)
- Mitch Hoopes (P)
WAC Rookie of the Year: Bruce Hill
Season notes edit
- Despite sharing the WAC title, Arizona did not earn a bowl invitation due to its loss to Arizona State and a lack of bowl spots available at the time. The head-to-head loss to ASU was a major reason behind the Wildcats being uninvited for a bowl. Had they beaten ASU and won the WAC outright, the Wildcats would have earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.
- Three of Arizona’s coaching staff would become future Wildcat head coaches. Larry Smith (defensive coordinator) would have a successful tenure with the Wildcats that began in 1980, and John Mackovic (offensive coordinator) was hired in 2001 and his Wildcat tenure would turn out to be a failure. A third coach, Mike Hankwitz, replaced Mackovic as Arizona’s coach during a disastrous 2003 season.
- Many Wildcats fans as well as the Tucson community credited Young for turning the program around after his predecessor’s failed tenure with the team.[5] Young would be awarded the WAC coach of the year for his efforts.
References edit
- ^ "New UA football coach Young plans to return winning formula back to Tucson". Tucson Daily Citizen. January 2, 1973.
- ^ a b c 2009 Arizona football media guide
- ^ 2010 Arizona press kit
- ^ AP Denver ALL WAC Football Team 1973 \
- ^ "UA fans thank Young for season turnaround". Arizona Daily Star. November 29, 1973.